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Mozilla Backs off on Data Collection: Firefox Labs to Not Require Telemetry or Studies in Future Updates (www.quippd.com)

submitted 5 days ago by LWD@lemm.ee to c/firefox@lemmy.ml

11 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://fedia.io/m/firefox@lemmy.world/t/2320051

Starting in Firefox 138, Mozilla started gating Firefox Labs features behind data collection.

Mozilla had announced that some new Firefox features would be released via Firefox Labs.

It is now a few hours since I posted, and there is reason to celebrate – Mozilla is updating Firefox Labs to let people access features without needing to enable data collection.

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[–] slackness@lemmy.ml 8 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I am happy they're giving people a choice. On the other hand, the fact is, (privacy respecting) telemetry is the only way to make a program as complicated as a web browser better. Especially important when your competition is a giant data hoarder with orders of magnitude more users. And people will just not turn on opt-in telemetry.

[–] LWD@lemm.ee 14 points 5 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

deleted by creator

[–] slackness@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 days ago

The Netflix analogy does not make any sense in this context.

they could always ask. Ask and then listen.

Not nearly enough people turn on optional telemetry. I'll bet you don't always either.

[–] ByteMe@lemmy.world 8 points 5 days ago

I'm really not happy with the path Mozilla chose.

[–] SplashJackson@lemmy.ca 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Firefox, sly as a fox, chicken as a chicken

[–] deathmetal27@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Why a chicken? At least they are not forcing it down our throats like others do.

[–] Coding4Fun@lemmy.ml -2 points 5 days ago

They are not forcing it down our throats because of the backslash of the community. So...chicken!

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Hey, I knew things would be okay in the end. ☺️

[+] LWD@lemm.ee 2 points 5 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

[deleted]

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Must have been a misunderstanding. I merely said that it makes sense that you would want to collect usage data on potential new future features that are in development, to gather an understanding of what works and what doesn't. I didn't say that features should be arbitrarily gated. That would make no sense. 👍

[–] LWD@lemm.ee 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

deleted by creator

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Well, that's an incorrect interpretation of what it says.

I make no mention of the word "gated" or any other synonym of that. Those are your words, and it's an incorrect extrapolation of what I'm saying. I make heavy use of words like "help", and I talk about it coming from our direction.

The help should be voluntary, I will concede, but I think it would be fine if it were opt-out. Maybe a lot of people won't notice an opt-in variant, so Mozilla would get a lot less usage data.

There's a big difference between supporting something "being gated" in and of itself, and supporting helping out an organization that has a very noble mission statement (as far as I understand it anyway). That's the way I see it. 👍